An update of one of the bestselling blogging books, written by two of the world's most successful bloggers
There's a reason why the first two editions of this book have sold thousands of copies worldwide. Written by two of the world's most successful bloggers, it's one of the clearest books out there on how to earn an income from your blog. This new edition gets you up to date on the very latest changes that affect the blogging-for-business landscape. Featuring new material on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn; plus new ways and tools to grow your audience and expand your business beyond your blog, this professional blogger's bible is better than ever.
- Helps novices choose a blog topic, analyze the market, set up a blog, promote it, and earn revenue
- Gives aspiring bloggers proven techniques and the tools they need to succeed in building a business from their blogs
- Reveals 20 key ingredients for a successful blog post
- Offers solid, step-by-step instruction on how bloggers actually make money, why niches matter, how to use essential blogging tools and take advantage of social media and content aggregators, how to optimize your advertising, and much more
- Includes techniques for attracting and growing an audience and how to mine new business opportunities beyond your blog
Written by two fulltime professional bloggers, this exciting, updated edition of ProBlogger tells you exactly how to launch and maintain a blog that makes money.
Autorentext
Darren Rowse is the guy behind ProBlogger.net, a leading online information source for professional bloggers. He writes for various blogs and edits the popular Digital Photography School site (digital-photography-school.com).
Chris Garrett is a writer, online business consultant, teacher, coach, new media industry commentator, and of course, professional blogger. He shares blogging advice at chrisg.com and contributes to numerous blogs.
Klappentext
Make blogging your business — and love what you do!
You really CAN make a living as a blogger — if you're willing to commit the time and effort, and if you follow the advice in this book. Written by two leading authorities on creating and monetizing blogs, ProBlogger lays out the steps you need to follow to create a revenue-generating blog. Complete with exercises to help you put the advice into practice, this book offers a realistic, approachable look at what it really takes to turn blogging into a successful career.
With this practical guide, you can
- Understand both direct and indirect earning methods
- Develop a successful earning strategy
- Write content that attracts and holds visitors
- Learn to market and promote your blogs
- Engage followers via Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn
- Study the secrets of more than a half-dozen successful blogs
Inhalt
Introduction xxi
1 Blogging for Money 1
What Is a Blog? 1
What Makes Blogs Different? 2
The Added Benefits of Blogging 3
Making Money with Blogs 4
An Introduction to Professional Blogging 4
How Much Could You Earn? 5
Pro Blogging Is Not a Get-Rich-Quick Tactic 5
Direct and Indirect Earning Methods 6
Passive and Active Income 9
Is Pro Blogging Right for You? 10
Which Monetization Method Is Right for You? 10
How to Make Blog Advertising Work for You 12
Blog Strategies 13
Multiple Blogs 13
Freelance Blogging 13
Building and Flipping 14
Measuring a Blog's Success 14
Traffic 15
Subscribers 17
Comments, Feedback, and Interaction 18
Links 20
Search-Engine Results 21
Summary 22
2 Niche Blogging 23
10 Reasons Why Niche Blogs Are Successful 24
How to Choose a Profitable Niche Topic for Your Blog 26
Are You Interested in the Topic? 27
Do You Have Experience or Expertise in the Topic? 27
Is the Topic Popular? 28
Is the Niche Growing or Shrinking? 29
What's the Competition? 30
What's the Competition Neglecting? 31
Will You Have Enough Content? 32
Is the Niche Able to Be Monetized? 34
How Wide Should a Niche Be? 35
Should You Try Niche Demographic or Niche Topic? 36
Gala Darling 36
TCGeeks 37
Sports Networker 38
Choosing a Niche 39
Tools for Helping You to Choose a Niche for Your Blog 40
Summary 42
3 Setting Up Your Blog 43
Choosing the Right Blog for You 43
Blog Platform Choices 44
Hosted versus Self-Hosted 48
Hosted or Self-HostedWhich to Choose? 53
Choosing a Domain Name 54
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Domain Name 54
Registering a Domain 57
Creating Your Blog 59
Four Steps to Setting Up a Hosted Blog at WordPress 59
Setting Up a Custom Standalone Blog Using One-Click-Install 61
Enhancing Your Blog 66
Adding a Contact Form to Your Custom WordPress Blog 67
Blog Design Considerations 69
A Word on Color 70
Customizing a Blog Template 71
Summary 72
4 Blog Writing 73
What Is Good Content? 73
Usefulness and Uniqueness 74
Writing Tips for Bloggers 76
Scannable Content 77
Using Titles Effectively on Blogs 79
How to Use Titles Successfully 80
Opening Lines Matter 83
Post LengthHow Long Should a Blog Post Be? 83
Post FrequencyHow Often Should a Blogger Post? 84
Keeping Posts Granular 86
20 Types of Blog Posts 89
10 Steps to Writing a Successful Series on Your Blog 93
Building an Interactive Blog by Encouraging Comments 96
Summary 98
5 Blog Income and Earning Strategies 99
Time to Make Money? 99
Factors to Consider 102
Monetizing Directly with Advertising 102
Ad Payment Types 105
Finding Advertisers 106
Preparing for Advertisers 106
Finding Advertisers 108
Approaching Advertisers 109
Taking Payments 110
How Much to Charge 110
Ad Formats 110
How Many Ads to Display 111
Optimizing Advertising 112
Other Direct Forms of Income 112
Affiliate Programs 113
Tips for Using Affiliate Programs on Your Blog 113
Donations 115
Classifieds 117
Merchandise 117
Subscriptions 118
Indirect Income-Earning Strategies 118
Freelance Blogging 118
Magazines and Books 121
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